His rap music has been streamed millions of times by people all over the world. But unless you follow hip-hop and rap music, you have probably never heard of Connecticut native Witt Lowry. That is not even his real name.
Lowry grew up in South Windsor as Mark Richard, Jr. He is now making his mark as a rapper and songwriter.
While there is some explicit language in some of Witt's songs, most of his lyrics and message may not be what you would expect.
Lowry seems a bit in awe of how his career has grown, "somehow the music that I recorded in my closet in Connecticut - it's not even the main language in this country - and they are singing every single word that I recorded in my closet in Connecticut."
That closet of sorts may be Nevers Park in his hometown of South Windsor. That is where Lowry wrote his first big hit in 2013, "Kindest Regards."
He didn't stop there. Lowry wrote some of the songs from his 2019 U.S and European Tour at Nevers Park as well. The Nevers Road album made it to No.1 on the R&B/hip-hop and rap album sales Billboard chart when it debuted in 2019.
Lowry spoke glowingly of Nevers Park.
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"I would drive to this park and I would put on the beat in my headphones and I was in this little world creating this music that people from these other countries are going to see and hear. For me it's this magical place. These moments were created here and it's the town where we grew up."
Lowry studied graphic design at Springfield College and landed his first job at the WWE. But he decided to quit to pursue his passion for music. In those days he went by the name Witty, a reference to his love of writing and rhyming words. He eventually shortened his name to Witt and added Lowry, a play on his middle name Lawrence.
Lowry's producer is Dan Haynes who, like Lowry, graduated from South Windsor High in 2009. They reconnected during their college years and now produce music as a team. According to Haynes, the duo is also looking to improve.
"We are very much perfectionists...we want a very specific sound...every line every word means something, every song has a purpose," he explained.
Some of the lyrics are born out of tragedy. Lowry's song "Last Letter" pays tribute to his father who died from cancer in 2015. Lowry cried when he spoke to NBC Connecticut about his dad.
"I try to make sure everything I do is to make him proud. I wish he could see where we are. Four years later it's still really hard…yeah i don't think it ever gets easier."
Lowry often shares that emotion on stage which helps him connect with his cult-like following called "Team Witt."
Many of those fans watched Lowry perform last year in his tour through the U.S and Europe, a journey that began at Nevers Park in South Windsor.
